This Aramaic noun appears in Daniel 5:5 during Belshazzar's feast: the divine hand wrote on 'the plaster of the wall.' The word denotes chalk, lime, or plaster—the white coating applied to palace walls in ancient Mesopotamia. The Targum confirms this meaning, which persists in later Jewish Aramaic. The detail enhances the scene's dramatic visual: dark letters appearing on white plaster, visible to the terrified king and court. The writing surface itself becomes part of the supernatural sign's impact.